YourStory Exclusive: William Bissell, MD, FabIndia on what it takes to create an Iconic Brand?

William Bissell is the Managing Director of FabIndia,a second generation entrepreneur, whose father Mr. John Bissell founded the company FabIndia, in 1960. FabIndia is symbolic of Indian craftsmanship and is committed to build the Indian Fabric story. We at YourStory got a chance to meet William Bissel at the sidelines of IIT Delhi Tedx and we decided to bring to you a quick synopsis of our conversation.What has made FabIndia the brand it is today?

The key has been making the right decisions at the right time. While starting up, there was a determination to showcase Indian handloom textiles while providing equitable employment to traditional artisans, which led to the foundation of FabIndia, also a strong desire to fuse the best aspects of East/West collaboration. In the evolution of the brand FabIndia, the focus has shifted from exports to the local Indian retail-market, which has been a key decision.

Moreover, there was a strong belief that there was a strong and real need for a vehicle- in marketing the vast and diverse craft traditions of India and thereby help fulfill the need to provide and sustain rural employment. Executing at the right time what we felt was the need of the time, has helped FabIndia reach where it is today.

What do you have to say about brand-differentiation?

Brand-differentiation is the essence of survival, as well as long-term prosperity for any venture. For example, FabIndia has had its own ways of brand-differentiation such as its unique COC (community-owned companies) model. FabIndia’s products are natural, craft-based, contemporary and affordable. This is just our specific example, and how we created market differentiation. Any passionate venture needs to look out for such ways and untried models to make it distinct from the rest. The one in which the entrepreneur believes the most himself shall work.

What are the future plans for FabIndia?

The future plans for FabIndia includes leveraging the Organic Products section, since it is still in a nascent stage in India. Plan is to expand nationally, as well internationally. We are also trying to reduce the number of defects in the products to a minimal which include bleeding of colors, shrinkages etc.

What motivated you to write the brilliant book “Making India Work”?

It was just the frustration with the problems within the country, which prompted me to come up with a theory that could be well-implemented to solve them. Compiling them all together was best in the form of a novel, and thus I came up with “Making India Work”.

How do you plan to execute the theory on paper, in the real world?

A time would come when people will realize the existing system has failed, when they will begin looking for alternative solutions. At that point of time, this theory would perfectly fit in the picture and will be implemented in the real world.